Cavs Watch: January 2011

Yes, there is still basketball being played in Cleveland...sorta.

It’s been a while since we checked in with the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first post-LeBron year and there’s a reason for that…they kinda suck. Wait, that may be a little harsh and even more inaccurate but sitting at 8-29 and losers of 19 of their last 20 games, what else am I gonna say?

In the Cavaliers defense, not only have they lost their best player of a season ago and the heart of their franchise, Mr. LBJ, but they can’t seem to get anyone else from that squad healthy either. Nearly every mainstay from the past few seasons for the Cavs have suffered from missed games with the most devastating coming most recently as their best player, center Anderson Varejao, who is reportedly out for the remainder of the season due to surgery needed to fix a torn tendon.

With the injury to Varejao, along with injuries to Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe, Cleveland has been forced to put in the youngsters on the bench. That means players like Samario Samuels, Christian Eyenga and Manny Harris are getting significant playing time. In fact, of the eight guys that played in last nights loss to the Phoenix Suns, only three of them were contributors from a season ago.

Give the kids some credit however, they come to play and look poised to do some bright things in the Cavaliers future. They only need to learn how to close out games, something that has been a glaring weakness this season for the Cavs.

"It was the fourth quarter, the last few minutes we just seemed to, I wouldn’t say fall apart, but we do something that we just can’t do," Cleveland head coach Byron Scott said. "That’s lack of experience from some guys, but other than that I’m very proud and very happy how well we played."

I’m not going to lie to you, this rough season is probably going to get rougher, and saying that the future looks good doesn’t hold much water for Cavs fans that have been spoiled by winning seasons over the past 7 years. But hold fast Cleveland fans, there’s always next season, and on the bright side, at least the Cavaliers are looking at a possible top 5 lottery pick.